Tiivistelmä

The reiterating demographical statistics have been consistent in elaborating the growing rate of the aged population in both developing and developed countries. Currently, steady increase in lifespan of certain populations has been observed which further exacerbates this trend. Governments and other stakeholders in health care have embraced solutions from various disciplines in improving the wellbeing of their elderly citizenry. Serious Games (SGs) are games that have been designed to accomplish other purposes than entertainment such as influencing learning, civic engagement or behaviour change. Limited knowledge, about the application of SGs for elderly, exists in this emerging field. “How have SGs been used in elderly health care?” was our predefined question; the objective of this research is to assess the utilization of SGs in improving elderly health care through a systematic literature review.

A systematic literature search was conducted through Laurea’s electronic library NELLI. The primary search collected 854 articles using the keywords ‘health care’, ‘eHealth’, ‘elderly health care’ in conjunction with ’Serious Games’. The inclusion criteria (full text articles, English language, published after 1st January 2004) were followed by critical appraisal of the articles. A total of seven studies were selected for this review and were analysed through a qualitative inductive process.

The findings showed that SGs have been explored to enhance holistic care, elderly patient’s safety, health care delivery and improve patient autonomy of the elderly. SG applications have been applied across various focus groups, and the potential they have in combination with telemedicine promises positive milestones in the sectors of health care and information technology.

Trustworthiness and ethical issues have been considered throughout the study. From this review, we observed that insufficient and fragmented knowledge of SG utilization in elderly health care exist. Interdisciplinary cooperation is required to accomplish greater strides in this field. Lastly, more extensive and empirical research is recommended to inculcate this new approach into contemporary health care practice.